City Recreation

City officials have interviewed three candidates, and expect to hire a recreation director in the next several weeks. City Manager Jim Chisholm aid many of the applicants have been highly qualified.Linda Hansen, who served as city recreation director for a little more than a year, resigned several weeks ago after she bought interest in a movie video store in Clermont.

For years, the city of Winter Park has operated a shuttle bus service that takes residents without a car across the city. The idea was initially aimed at seniors who, as their eyesight worsen with age, no longer could safely operate a motor vehicle and needed to rely on others to do the driving for them, and for school children whose parents were still at work when school let out. Little did they know, said Patricia A. Maddox, that the recession would...

City recreation committee members say they are facing a tough choice: Raise money from private groups or residents to help run recreation programs or raise user fees so high that many people won't be able to afford to play.Committee chairwoman Charlene Retey said the group prefers not to raise fees, so members are planning fund-raising activities July 19-20 to benefit the department.Organizers this week are enlisting the help of civic groups, booster organizations and any interested people to assist in putting on the events.

Three days a week, Lois Brown slips into her bathing suit and heads to Mount Dora's public pool for an hourlong water aerobics session with a dozen friends. "I'll tell you, keeping active is really important, especially as you get older," the 85-year-old Mount Dora resident said Friday. But Brown and her aerobics partners might soon have to find a new place to swim. Mount Dora is considering closing its pool during the fall and winter months to cut spending. It's another example of a local city struggling through tough economic times.

The city Recreation Department will have a Teen Talent Explosion with a video dance party from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Tanner Auditorium. A roving video camera will catch live-action dance shots of those attending and put them on a 17-foot screen along with other videos.All sixth- through eighth-graders are encouraged to attend. The recreation department will not allow students to leave until 10 p.m., at which time they should have a parent pick them up.Tickets are $3 in advance and $4 at the door.

With the end of the school year less than two months away, city officials trying to put the finishing touches on their summer youth recreation program have run into some opposition from private day-care centers fearful of losing children to the less-expensive city program.Chuck Pula, the director of the parks and recreation department, said two day care operators complained recently about the proposed fee structure and the ages of the children participating in the city-run summer program.

Organizers of local youth sports teams contend that a proposed city recreation plan could put their kids out of the game this summer.But Eustis officials said the new pay-for-play plan would make parks and the city pool available to the public more often.The Eustis Little League, Pop Warner Football and Eustis High School baseball team have been asked to pay half the $60,000 operating expenses for city recreation fields.And the Golden Triangle swim team is being asked to assist with the city's Ferran Park pool costs by paying $8,400 this year.

The city and county recreation departments are applying for grants that could bring a park to the corner of Crown Point Cross Road and West Crown Point Road.The northeastern part of Winter Garden ''is becoming so well-developed . . . A park is needed on that side of the city,'' commissioner Joe Morabito said last week.The city commission authorized the grant application, but they have the option of refusing it if they decide the park will cost too much.Commissioner Theo Graham said the commission needed to think about the expense.

Kevin Wiedecker, the city's recreation division chief, will become field director for the state's Sunshine State Games beginning April 15.Wiedecker, 30, has been with the city for almost six years and, in addition, to his regular duties of coordinating and planning recreation programs he has coached Pop Warner football teams.''I think I'm going to miss Winter Park but the opportunity was too good to pass up,'' said Wiedecker. ''There will be a lot of traveling involved and I'll be meeting a lot of people.

Kids in west Tavares will have a safe and fun place to play when school lets out if the city can win grant money for an after-school recreation program.City leaders are seeking a share of the $157,324 in federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act funds that have been awarded this year to Lake County. Last year, DARE money helped fund youth recreation programs in Eustis and Mount Dora.The cash would help start an after-school program at the Ingraham Center in the city's west Main Street community. The recreation building would be a drop-in center that could offer games and sports to neighborhood kids.

CLERMONT -- State-ordered tax cuts have forced the city to increase some fees for its popular recreation programs. For years Lake County has given Clermont money to help pay for county residents who use the city's recreational facilities. This year, though, legislators forced local governments to cut taxes to reduce their windfall from soaring property values -- a hit that cost the county about $2.5 million. In turn, county officials cut their spending, including grants for cities and nonprofit groups that offer recreation to county residents.

Orlando City Commissioners should ask lots of questions Monday when they vote on a budget item to build a recreation center at the old Ben White raceway. The proposal to build the $2.5 million center is the first step in an innovative idea to save money by creating a joint venture with a private organization, such as the YMCA. Nevertheless, the commission should approach this cautiously to make sure that city residents will not be shortchanged. City officials think that they can save taxpayers $250,000 annually by letting an outside organization manage the center.

LEESBURG -- Residents soon may be asked to answer questions on city recreation issues. This week, the City Commission authorized City Manager Tony Otte to hire a consultant for up to $15,000 to survey residents about recreation. Assistant City Manager Sally Sherman said the selected consultant and city staff will determine what kinds of questions are used in the poll, the type of survey and the number of people to be included in the questionnaire. Possible questions include where the city should be build a proposed recreation complex.

LONGWOOD - More than 400 summer campers went toe to toe recently in running, swimming, volleyball, basketball and a variety of other athletic events in Seminole County's first Intra-City Olympic Games.The kids competed at Lyman High School in teams representing their cities in the games, the first major venture of the Seminole Cities Recreation Council.The organization, which began operating a few months ago, includes representatives from recreation departments in each of the county's seven cities.

DELTONA - The city's Parks Advisory Board met for the first time last month to begin its mission of communicating the area's recreational needs to city leaders.The goal is to provide a well-rounded recreational system that addresses the changing needs of residents.Acting City Manager Linda White said the initial meeting was an informational session. White said the seven-member board was given an overview of the parks budget and city budget, and they discussed the city's contracts with Volusia County.

SANFORD - As restoration continues on the Sanford Memorial Stadium, officials are considering whether to move the city's recreation department to the historic site.``I've always dreamed of a center for youth sports,'' said City Commissioner Whitey Eckstein, who proposed moving all recreational offices from City Hall to the stadium property on Mellonville Avenue.Parks and Recreation director Mike Kirby said he likes the idea.He said the move would put employees closer to nearby ball fields and create better security for the stadium, which is undergoing a $1.2 million restoration.

A proposed city recreation pay-for-play plan that spurred months of heated debate earlier this year could be settled amicably tonight.Some local youth sports and senior services organizers were worried that a city plan to charge them fees would wreck their programs.But now it seems that months of negotiations by City Commissioner Homer Royals likely will result in a compromise with most of the groups.The fuss began in December when Little League baseball, Pop Warner football and Eustis High School baseball officials received letters asking them to come up with half of the $63,000 annual cost to maintain the sports complex on Golf Links Drive.

Orlando City Commissioners should ask lots of questions Monday when they vote on a budget item to build a recreation center at the old Ben White raceway. The proposal to build the $2.5 million center is the first step in an innovative idea to save money by creating a joint venture with a private organization, such as the YMCA. Nevertheless, the commission should approach this cautiously to make sure that city residents will not be shortchanged. City officials think that they can save taxpayers $250,000 annually by letting an outside organization manage the center.

Most homeowners in the city's historic residential community like the idea of a hotel and conference center in Sanford.But most of the nearly 75 residents who met Tuesday night to discuss the idea oppose the site proposed by a developer: the land now occupied by Fort Mellon Park on Lake Monroe.Earlier this month, Sanford Mayor Larry Dale announced preliminary plans for the $75 million project, which includes a 12-story hotel, an adjoining conference center and a six-story luxury apartment building on the park property.

Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood has been pushing to increase the sales tax by one cent for more than a year, talking up the concept seemingly wherever two voters gather.The raise, she says to anyone capable of listening, will help avert potential catastrophe for Orlando: clogged roads, increasingly crowded schools, businesses fleeing to other communities.Hood stands out among municipal leaders in campaigning for the sales tax.Maitland Council members, in fact, went in the opposite direction, refusing to endorse it and calling it flawed.